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Masters · Gelug

The Gaden Tripa: Holder of the Gelug School's Highest Throne

Six centuries ago Je Tsongkhapa founded Ganden Monastery and the school that would become the Gelug — the tradition of the Dalai Lamas. The throne he occupied is still held today, by a master chosen for learning rather than birth. The 105th Gaden Tripa will be in Gelephu for Project 108 from 1 to 4 November.

In Gelephu · 1–4 November 2026

Updated 1 October 2026 · 3 min read

Tsongkhapa and Ganden

In 1409 the scholar and reformer Je Tsongkhapa founded Ganden Monastery on a mountain east of Lhasa. His followers became the Gelug — the “virtuous way” — which grew into the largest school of Tibetan Buddhism and the tradition of the Dalai Lamas. Ganden, with Sera and Drepung, became one of the three great Gelug monastic universities; it had some 7,500 monks in 1959.

Ganden has two colleges, Jangtse (“north peak”) and Shartse (“east peak”). After 1959 the monastery in Tibet was destroyed, and both colleges were re-founded in exile at Mundgod in Karnataka, southern India, where thousands of monks study today.

The throne

Tripa means “throne-holder”. The Gaden Tripa occupies the throne of Tsongkhapa himself and is the formal head of the Gelug school. Unlike many great Tibetan offices, it does not pass by reincarnation or family. It is earned: the holder is a master of long learning who has risen through the tantric colleges. By tradition the throne alternates between two senior retired abbots, the Jangtse Chöje and the Sharpa Chöje — the “Dharma masters” of the north and east — and the Gaden Tripa is appointed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

The Gaden Tripa is distinct from the abbots of the two Ganden colleges; each college has its own abbot, while the Tripa holds the throne above them.

The 105th Gaden Tripa

In November 2024 the Dalai Lama appointed Jetsun Lobsang Dorjee, previously the Sharpa Chöje, as the 105th Gaden Tripa. As holder of the Gaden throne, he stands at the head of the Gelug tradition.

In Bhutan, 2026

His Holiness the Gaden Tripa will be in Gelephu Mindfulness City from 1 to 4 November, joining the gathering for the raising and consecration of the 108 Jangchub Chortens, and the three days of prayer along the Mau Chhu. The Gelug tradition is also represented through the abbot of Gaden Jangtse, who committed a chorten to the project. The prayers and rituals in Gelephu are led by His Holiness the Je Khenpo, Bhutan’s Chief Abbot. The full list of masters is in Project 108 Masters.

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